Sipping their hot chocolate, all of them declaring it absolutely perfect, the team watched her as she worked. Daniel stole glances at his teammates. They were just as mesmerized by her as he was, watching her graceful movements. They all began to sniff appreciatively when she began to brown the meat, the peppers, the chilies and the onions. Casey opened the cabinet where she kept her spices, selected several, and added a bit of each to the contents of the pot. Two cans of kidney beans went in next. When she'd added two cans of roasted, diced tomatoes and two cans of tomato sauce, she turned the heat down, put the lid on the heavy pot and turned to her audience.
"This should be ready in a couple of hours," she announced softly.
"And we'll be ready to eat it," Jack told her, a grin on his face.
"Until then, we could watch a movie or something," Sam suggested.
"Yeah, Case has a great selection of animated features," Daniel teased.
"Hey, I like my sappy little animated movies, thank you!" she retorted.
"Which ones do you have?" Sam asked.
"Let's see...'Ice Age', 'Monsters, Inc', 'Finding Nemo'-" Casey recited.
"Oh, I wanted to see that one!" the tall blonde declared. She followed the younger blonde into the living room.
Jack rolled his eyes. "Now we get to sit and watch kiddy movies. Hurray."
"Just think about the chili, Jack," Daniel replied.
"Yeah, I suppose I can suffer through one movie," the older man agreed.
It wasn't just one movie, however. After watching the animated story of the clownfish Nemo, which the men seemed to enjoy just as much as the two women had, Casey put 'Serendipity' into the DVD player. The three men groaned and complained throughout the entire thing. When Sam reached for 'The Wedding Planner'…a movie that Casey had chosen simply because of the title…while the young woman was checking the chili, the three put-upon male members of the team reacted by pulling her away from the cabinet. Daniel searched for and found 'The Last Samurai', grumbling that the next batch of movies rented would not contain so many 'chick flicks'. Casey and Sam left them to watch the movie in peace. They talked more about the upcoming wedding while the young blonde made the cornbread that would accompany the now ready chili.
Casey laughed when each of the men made a trip to the kitchen as the baking cornbread added to the delightful aromas that were emanating from the warm room. They were seated at the table and ready to eat before she'd finished setting it. Which made her giggle more. She filled the large tureen that had graced Grandma Rose's table on many a Sunday, cut the cornbread into wedges and put them on a serving platter. Daniel grabbed beers from the fridge, and the pitcher of tea that she'd made specifically for Teal'c.
She watched as each of her new friends and her fiancé filled their bowls with the steaming, red chili.
Jack took a bite, closed his eyes and smiled. "Last time I had chili this good, I was in Texas," he declared. "Danny's right, Casey, you're a good cook!"
She blushed, gave a shy smile. "Thanks." When the telephone rang, some twenty minutes later, Casey insisted that Daniel remain with his friends. As soon as her fingers touched the instrument, she knew who it was. She shivered, looked over her shoulder to ascertain that Daniel hadn't been witness to her reaction. With trembling fingers, she picked it up. "Hello?"
"Hello, Casey. How are you? That geek keeping you satisfied? Or are you ready for a real man? I'd love to drill my cock into that sweet little cunt of yours," Mark White's voice sneered. "I could show you how it feels to be fucked by a real man! Any time-"
She resisted the urge to slam the receiver back onto the cradle. Her hands were shaking so hard she missed the base twice. Turned around to find Daniel standing directly behind her.
"It was him," he said quietly.
Wrapping her arms around her waist, she gave a slight nod.
"What did he say?"
"Nothing that matters," she whispered.
Daniel put his hand under her chin, raised her face so that she was forced to look at him. "What did he say?"
"Just rambling about…" her cheeks flushed, she closed her eyes.
Jack was standing just behind Daniel. He reached over, picked up the handset, punched 'Star-6-9'. "I'm stopping this shit right now." He waited, listening as the phone rang.
"Hello?"
Jack recognized Sergeant White's voice. "Sergeant, this is Colonel O'Neill. Could you meet me at the base? Something has come up that we need to discuss."
Sitting in his apartment, beer in hand, Mark White felt a moment of panic. So far Daniel Jackson had kept his mouth shut about what had happened in that warehouse. He didn't think that the geek would say anything now. Unless the geek had told someone about the phone call he'd made after he'd gotten home from Deezers. He barely remembered making it. He shook his head. He was being paranoid. That little shithead knew what the score was. That had been a lesson that he'd helped to 'teach' the archaeologist five years ago. No, Jackson hadn't said anything to anybody. "Yes, sir. I'm on my way."
"Good." Jack hung up, winked at Casey, then dialed again. "General Hammond? Sorry to disturb you at home, sir, but we have a situation. It concerns Daniel and Casey. And one of the men who attacked Daniel back in November…No sir, just this one man…No, sir, only because this guy is making phone calls to them…Yes, sir. I took the liberty of calling him. He'll be on the base when we get there…Yes, sir…If you don't mind, sir, we'd all like to be there for this…Yes, sir."
"What's going on?" Sam asked quietly, as soon as Jack had ended the call.
"We're going to have a little chat with Sergeant White," Jack replied. "We're all going to be there. I want him to know that he's not just harassing Daniel. He's taking on all of SG-1."
"Indeed," Teal'c said, his dark eyes flashing with anger.
Casey took enough time to put the leftovers away while Sam piled the dishes into the sink. She looked over at the young blonde. "Casey, are you all right?"
"I think so," was the quiet reply.
The tall blonde crossed the kitchen, wrapped her arms around shaking slender shoulders. "It's okay. We'll take care of this guy," Sam said softly.
"And then he'll take care of Daniel, right?" The words were sharper than she'd intended.
Sam smiled. "Sergeant White doesn't realize that Daniel is quite capable of taking care of himself. Even when the odds are against him."
"If anything happens to him…I'll just curl up and die," Casey said.
"That won't happen, Angel," Daniel said softly as he stepped into the kitchen. He smiled at Sam as he took her place, pulled Casey close to him. "I promise."
A A A A A A
When the team arrived on the base, General Hammond convinced them that it would be easier to get information from the sergeant if he wasn't confronted en masse. With a nod to the colonel, the General led the others toward the monitoring room.
Sergeant Mark White paced nervously in front of Colonel O'Neill's office. Came to attention when the colonel came strolling down the corridor.
"Sergeant. Please come in," Jack said calmly. In the monitoring room, General Hammond and the rest of SG-1 watched and listened. "Sit," he said, closing the door.
The husky Marine did as he was told. "What's this about, sir?"
"I have a bit of a problem," Jack said, settling back in his chair, lacing his hands over his stomach. Which was quite full of chili and cornbread. "I'm going to tell you a story. Completely hypothetical."
"Yes, sir," Sergeant White said, a bit confused.
"Okay, seems there's a certain man on this base who has ticked a few people off. He's a bit annoying, one of those really smart guys who can't take 'no' for an answer. Has a habit of getting himself and his teammates into trouble. Not that his teammates don't do the same thing," Jack said.
"Yes, sir?"
"Well, suppose that there was a group of interested…by-standers…who had just had enough of this guy. What do you think would happen?"
Mark White was a lot of things. A quick study wasn't one of them. He contemplated for a few seconds on whether or not Colonel O'Neill was asking him about what had happened to that geek before Thanksgiving. Discarded the idea, believing that if the colonel knew about it, he'd already be in the stockade. Decided that maybe the colonel was just as tired of the little chicken-shit as he and his friends were. "I'd say those by-standers might be apt to have a little…talk…with the geek…er…this smart guy."
Jack smiled, although there was no warmth in the action. "Little blanket party, perhaps?"
"Most likely, sir. Sometimes that's the best way for dealing with problems like that."
"Now, let's complicate the matter a bit," Jack continued. "Let's say that somehow this…geek… managed to get himself a beautiful girlfriend. A woman who can make you forget your name when you watch her walk."
In the monitoring room, Casey blushed brightly. Daniel smiled at her, pulled her closer to his side, his hand moving over her shoulder reassuringly.
"I've seen a woman or two like that, sir," White admitted. He was convinced that the colonel was talking about Jackson, had no clue who had been involved in the incident in November, and was seeking someone to help him…discipline…the annoying civilian archaeologist.
"Now, the way I see it, this little lady needs to understand what a loser she's with. How would you deal with that?"
"Well, I suppose a couple of phone calls, just to let her know that you understand her…predicament," White replied, warming up to the subject. "Let her know that you understand that a hot little number like her needs special handling, and that you're just the man to do it."
Jack reined back his temper. "So have you seen Casey Webster?"
White grinned. "Yes, sir! I'd love to drill that sweet little cunt! Show her what a real man could do for her. Sir," he added, remembering just whom he was talking to.
"You don't think Doctor Jackson is a real man?"
White snorted derisively. "He's a geek, sir! A fuckin' bookworm! And he's gay! You can tell that by just looking at him! I think he's just with that hot little number to try and throw the rest of us real men off the track."
Daniel felt his jaw clench. Sam reached over and touched his arm. The slight contact spoke volumes, the communication between the two friends ending with a smile from each of them.
"If you had the chance, and knew there would be absolutely no repercussions, what would you do to Doctor Jackson?" Jack asked. He hoped that General Hammond was recording this on both cameras!
"Well, sir, I suppose that if I knew there weren't going to be repercussions, and I had the opportunity, I think I'd just pick Doctor Jackson and that sweet little blonde up, and take them for a ride. Somewhere nice and private. Then I'd…explain…things to the doctor," he said, spitting the word, "if you get my meaning, sir."
"Pretend I don't. Expound on it."
"Sir?" White said, confused.
"Explain it to me," Jack replied, mentally rolling his eyes. Obviously oral communication was not this man's forte!
"Well, let's just say a nice big, new bar of soap and a soft towel are just the thing to make your point."
Daniel frowned. Had Sergeant White been part of the SGC that long? He thought back. Yep, he was certain that he was one of the few men who had been part of the original 'gate room security team that had been assigned to the SGC when the Stargate program started up.
Jack had also taken note of what the man had said. Had no doubt that this man had been party to the first attacks on Daniel five years ago. "Okay, then what?"
Sergeant White leered. He'd had a few beers before receiving the call to report to the base. He wasn't thinking with a clear head. "Well, I suppose I'd take that sweet little thing and show her how it feels to be fucked by a real man. Make sure that the doctor had a ringside seat for the show." He sat back in his chair, chuckled quietly. "Hell, might even take a poke at his fag ass."
Jack's jaw was working furiously. "Sergeant White, did you call Doctor Jackson's residence at about three a.m. this morning? And then again about an hour ago?"
The Marine's face lost all color. He was slow, but he wasn't completely stupid. "I ain't sayin' nothin'," he hissed.
"I think you're one of the men who beat Doctor Jackson right after his return from Abydos. I also think you were part of that blanket party in November."
The sergeant noticed immediately that the colonel was trying to get him to admit to what he'd done. He sat back, crossed his arms over his wide chest. "I ain't sayin' nothin'," White repeated.
"That's fine. Don't say anything. Just listen. If you, or any of the friends who were with you, get within ten feet of Daniel Jackson or Casey Webster, I'll toss your ass through the 'gate to a nice, desert planet full of Goa'uld."
"You can't do that!"
"It's 'you can't do that, sir', and I sure as hell can," Jack replied. "More than that, I will. Just so you know, Teal'c is a very good friend of Daniel's, and when I tell him that you and your buddies are responsible for what happened to his friend, he's not going to take it well."
"Yeah, like I’m afraid of that Jaffa. Freakin' Goa'uld carrying…" White was muttering.
"Excuse me?" Jack was beyond angry. "You realize that Daniel knows exactly who attacked him. He hasn't said one word about it, but if I order him to, he'll be required to tell me what he knows."
White blanched.
"Now, I'd be willing to make a deal with you. Reduced sentence for the names of every one involved," Jack continued.
"I ain't no rat," White hissed.
"I didn't think so." He picked up the phone, called for Security. "I was at Daniel's home when you called, Sergeant. I called you from there."
Once again the man paled.
"I'll be contacting the phone company for all records for your phone and his."
"You can't prove nuthin'," the man snarled.
"I can prove that you've been harassing Doctor Jackson. I have the feeling that when your friends find out you've been arrested, they'll be singing their heads off to avoid prosecution."
The door to the office opened. General Hammond stepped into the room. The Texan was livid, his eyes full of anger. "Colonel," he said.
"General," Jack said, rising to attention.
"I want this man in a cell yesterday. And I want the names of the others who are involved." The general turned to the Marine who was standing in front of Jack's desk. "If I hear that you or your ignorant, useless friends have even thought about retaliation against Doctor Jackson, who has been instrumental in saving this planet several times, which means he's saved your sorry ass, Sergeant, I will personally escort you to the 'gate and allow Colonel O'Neill to toss you through it. Do I make myself clear?"
"Sir, yes sir!"
"As it is, I doubt very much that you'll be doing too much of anything but cleaning latrines in Leavenworth for the remainder of your enlistment."
Sergeant Mark White fumed silently. He didn't know how that goddamned little asshole had managed it, but he'd pulled the brass in on this. Another black mark went beside the geek's name on the 'list' that he kept in head. Dr. Daniel Jackson would pay for everything he'd done, all the trouble he'd caused!
Casey, Daniel, Sam, and Teal'c were walking toward Jack's office when the Security officers were leading Sergeant White to the holding cell. He sneered at the young blonde. "You just wait, sweet thing! I'm gonna nail you yet!"
Daniel's fist was doubled, he was in the middle of the swing when both Jack and General Hammond grabbed him. "Don't do it, son," General Hammond said soothingly. "Don't give him grounds to walk out of that cell."
His blue eyes full of fire, he continued to struggle, even though in the back of his mind he knew that the general was right. The primal need to protect Casey was in full control, and common sense wasn't in large supply for the moment.
"Damn it, Daniel, don't mess things up," Jack hissed. "We've got him, now stand down!"
Five years of working with him, five years of putting his life in Jack's hands, trusting him time and again caused the voice, and the words, to filter through the anger. Daniel relaxed against his friend's shoulder. "I'll kill him."
"I know, Danny. If he even tries anything, I'll hold him for you," Jack said softly. He glanced at Casey. Didn't think he'd ever seen her eyes so wide, so full of fear. "Danny, she needs you."
Daniel turned around. Groaned softly. "C'mere, Angel."
His anger had frightened her. She wasn't afraid of him hurting her. No, she was afraid that he would kill that man, that sergeant who hated her archaeologist. And if he did, then he'd be taken from her. She let him pull her close. Wrapped her arms around those strong shoulders, held tight, breathed deeply of his wonderful, masculine scent. Took the comfort he offered.
"It's okay, Angel," he whispered. He could feel her gentle touch soothing him, calming him.
"As long as I'm with you," she whispered in reply. "Please don't leave me," she begged.
"Never, Case, that's never going to happen."
She pulled far enough away from him that she could look up into those incredible blue eyes. "Don't give anyone a reason to take you from me," she said softly.
He smiled. "I promise."
Sam, Jack, and Teal'c had shifted physically closer to the couple, offering their quiet moral support. General Hammond smiled. The team dynamic was just as strong as ever. It just included another person now.
"I suggest that you all go home," the general said. "I have an idea who Sergeant White's associates might be. I'm going to pull some records and do a little research."
"I'd like to help with that, sir," Jack said.
General Hammond nodded. "As you like. Doctor Jackson, take Miss Webster home. Major, I suggest you go home as well." He turned to the tall Jaffa. "You, too, son. We'll take care of this."
Teal'c bowed his head. "If my assistance is required, please notify me."
"We will, T-man," Jack said quietly. He moved to stand beside Casey. "I promise, we'll get these guys. And you won't have to worry about Sergeant White."
Her eyes smiled as warmly as her full pink lips. "Thanks, Jack," she said softly.
"Now, take Daniel home and try to keep him out of trouble," Jack said, winking at her.
"I think I can manage that," she replied. She'd take him home, sit him on the couch, put on a CD and strip for him. And see if he could manage to let her do a lap dance for him without touching her.
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